Sphinx
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Sphinx, the image of a hybrid creature with a lion's body and, usually, a human head. The term is derived from a Greek verb meaning "to bind together." The sphinx as a concept and an art form originated in Egypt. It spread throughout the ancient world with variations in appearance
and significance.
Egyptian Sphinxes
From the earliest period of Egyptian art, it was customary to represent the king, or pharaoh, as a lion to express his strength
and power. The combination of the theriomorphic (having animal form) and anthropomorphic (human form) concepts of the pharaoh
resulted in the sphinx, a symbol of superhuman power. The pharaoh was believed to be both human and divine, so the sphinx
also symbolized divine power. Sphinxes, representing the various pharaohs, came to be important motifs in Egyptian art. (See
Pharaoh.)
Great Sphinx
The oldest, most famous Egyptian sphinx is the Great Sphinx at Giza, dating from the 26th century B.C. (questionable
studies in the late 20th century have tried to antedate the Sphinx to as early as 7,000 B.C., but Egyptologists,
archaeologists, and other experts roundly disagree with this redating). It is a monumental sculpture carved from a natural
bluff of rock about 1,200 feet (370 meters) southeast of the first great pyramid, that of Khufu (Cheops). It lies in the center
of a large quarry, which supplied some of its building blocks. The body has the shape of a recumbent lion, and the head is
that of a king wearing the royal headdress. The figure looks east, toward the Nile Valley. (See
Giza;
Pyramid;
Khufu.)
The body and head are carved from living rock. The outstretched paws are added masonry. The figure's height at its tallest
point is 66 feet (21 meters), and the length is 240 feet (74 meters). The nose is 5 feet 7 inches (1.7 meters) long, the mouth 7 feet 7 inches (2.3 meters) wide, and the face 13 feet 8 inches (4.2 meters) in breadth.
The whole figure originally was covered with painted plaster, traces of which are still visible. Before its breast are the
remains of a statue of a standing king, probably a later addition. In front of the Sphinx are the foundations of a temple,
built at the same time that the Sphinx was carved.
The Great Sphinx is thought to have been the work of an unknown artist inspired by the lines of a core of stone that remained
after the quarrying of blocks to build Khufu's pyramid. It is certain that the creature originally had the features of the
pharaoh Khafre (Chephren), builder of the second great pyramid, and that it was meant solely to present the pharaoh in a special,
never-before-used form in which he could be worshiped. (See
Khafre.)
During the New Kingdom (c. 1570–1075 B.C.), the Great Sphinx was taken into the theology of the sun god Re
(Ra), and its original significance was probably forgotten. It was worshiped under the name Hor-em-akhet ("Horus in the Horizon"), the Greek Harmachis, and was considered a representation of the sun god Re- (Ra-) Harakhti. In this form the Sphinx continued
to be worshiped into the Roman period. Later, in the Muslim era, its origin completely forgotten, the Great Sphinx became
the object of wide speculation. It was regarded with admiration by Muslims such as the 13th-century Arabian traveler and historian
Abdallatif or with horror, as expressed by its Arabic name, Abul-hol ("Father of Terrors"). (See
Re;
Horus;
Abdallatif.)
Over the centuries the Great Sphinx suffered severely from weathering, especially from erosion by the constantly drifting
sand, which caused the ripples on the body. In addition, in 1380 A.D. the Sphinx fell victim to the iconoclastic
ardor of a fanatical Muslim ruler, who caused deplorable injuries to the head. Then the figure was used as a target for the
guns of the Mamluks. (See
Mamluks.)
Because of its location on the edge of the Libyan Desert, the Great Sphinx is constantly under threat of being covered by
sand. Even in ancient times, clearances of drifted sand were necessary. The first clearance is attested to have taken place
under Thutmose IV in the 15th century B.C. Others occurred in the Ptolemaic and Roman periods. Stelae describing
each clearance were set up in front of the Sphinx, particularly between the paws. In the Greco-Roman era, when a sacrificial
platform and altar were built in front of the Sphinx, walls of brick and stone were erected around the entire area to keep
out the sand, to no avail. In modern times the Sphinx was freed from encroaching sand by G. B. Caviglia in 1818, by Sir Gaston
Maspero in 1886, and by Émile Baraize of the Antiquities Service in 1925–1926. From 1936 extensive excavation was conducted
in the immediate vicinity.
Other Egyptian Sphinxes
In the Middle Kingdom (c. 2052–1786 B.C.), sphinxes—like the Great Sphinx, representing the pharaoh—appeared
more often. Set in pairs, they frequently flanked a doorway, an arrangement combining the significance of the sphinx as an
expression of kingship with the symbolism of the lion as guardian of the entrance. Such guardian sphinxes became numerous.
From the New Kingdom on, guardian sphinxes were placed in rows bordering the main avenues leading to temples and palaces.
Many remain at Karnak and Luxor, most headless and disfigured. Not all these sphinxes are androsphinxes, with a lion's body
and a human head. Other types are the criosphinx (a ram-headed lion) and the hieracosphinx (a hawk-headed lion). The hawk
and the ram, like the lion, were theriomorphic and representations of kingship. Thus those sphinx forms were closely related
in their significance to the original concept of the androsphinx. (See
Karnak;
Luxor.)
Greek and Asian Sphinxes
Sphinxes appeared outside Egypt in western Asia, Greece, and other parts of the Mediterranean world. They were usually guardians
or ornaments of temples, thrones, and tombs or were small figures in ivory or metal and on pottery and cylinder seals. These
sphinxes were much transformed in appearance, most frequently with wings added to the lion's body and with a female head.
In Greek mythology the Sphinx, daughter of the snake Echidna and her son Orthus, was sent by the gods to Thebes to ask passers-by
a riddle: What is it that walks on four feet in the morning, on two feet at noon, and on three feet in the evening? When they
failed to guess correctly, she devoured them. Finally the hero Oedipus gave the answer: man, who crawls on all fours as a
child, walks erect as an adult, and uses a cane in old age. The Sphinx then killed herself or, according to another account,
was killed by Oedipus. (See
Oedipus.)
Hans Goedicke
Johns Hopkins University
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